July 17, 2009
Dear family and friends,
YOU ARE WORTHY, O LORD
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)
Almost twenty five years ago, in the fall of 1984, I wrote the following in my journal from Macuma in the eastern jungles of Ecuador. “We are here for a music seminar with the Shuar Believers. I am with Bonnie who is directing the seminar. We are staying with Jim and Norma Hedlund. What a beautiful work the Lord has wrought in the lives of the Shuar. As recently as their parents’ generation this tribe was involved in head hunting and shrinking, polygamy, and revenge killings for any little thing that went wrong in their lives.” From Macuma we went to the Shuar community of Yaapi where I wrote the following. “There has never been a music seminar here, and we are making slow progress. Bonnie ran into some unexpected opposition to the song that the participants wrote to a Shuar text and music. They have come to believe their own music is not worthwhile for worship so they have borrowed highland Quichua music or other foreign tunes for all their music in worship. Finally, Bonnie convinced them that their own music was suitable for God’s praises, and they wrote a beautiful song based on Revelation 4:11.” (Pictured below are some Shuar people. See also the attached PDF version of this letter with a copy of the song.)
Now flash forward to July 10 of this year. Bonnie’s mother, Alice Brawand, was speaking at the Wycliffe Bible Translators training center in Dallas, Texas. Norma Hedlund, who with her husband, Jim, was visiting from Minneapolis ran up to her. In a letter that Norma gave to Alice for us, Norma describes their encounter. “What a surprise last evening to suddenly awaken to the fact that the beautiful lady speaking had to be your Mom! So I told her and the rest that her daughter helped the Shuar write songs of which the most sung and favorite one wherever we go is Revelation 4:11 ‘Uintá, uintá ii Yúsrinme. Tuki shiir awajmáinme…’ Thank you once again for that amazing love hymn.”
Twenty five years ago we had been in Ecuador for two years. Little did we know then that we would leave Ecuador four years later for the US/Mexico border where we have been for over twenty years now. Almost thirty years in cross cultural missions have taught us that we are truly “strangers and pilgrims” on this earth (Hebrews 11:13). Heaven is our final home, and we look forward to the day when we will worship around Christ’s throne with our Shuar, Mexican and other brothers and sisters from “every nation, tribe, people and tongue” (Revelation 7:9, 10).
THANK THE LORD AND THANK YOU
Thank you for the many encouraging letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from so many of you letting us know that you are reading our updates and praying. Thank you for the many of you who are partnering with us in financial support. It is a privilege to serve the Lord together with all of you here on the US/Mexico border.
With thanks for you and love in Christ,
Glenn & Bonnie
Home Address: 1703 Terrace Drive w Mission, Texas 78572 w ph: (956) 583-3420 w glafitte@hcjb.org
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"HCJB Global", designated for Lafittes, acct. 110042.) For electronic funds transfer (EFT) or credit card, go to www.hcjb.org online.
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Communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ along the U.S. & Mexico border and around the world.
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Osbergs in Honduras
Dear Family and Friends,
As you have heard by now, Honduras is in turmoil. A Honduran friend recently sent out this email with the current facts.
"THE CURRENT SITUATION IN HONDURAS - 10 Bullet Points -
1. The event this morning should be taken as an arrest against a Honduras citizen, Manuel Zelaya, who broke the constitutional Honduran law in multiple occasions over the last few days.
2. This SHOULD NOT be taken as a Coup d'état.
3. The vast majority of Honduras firmly opposes Manuel Zelaya and are in favor of his arrest.
4. The current news being portrayed in international networks appear to be heavily tilted toward a contrarian view of most Hondurans.
5. The majority of Honduras are not in favor of Manual Zelaya and are extremely proud of our congress and military for their stance in favor of democracy and peace.
6. The events happening today were caused by an attempt by Manuel Zelaya to manipulate our country and its constitution to fulfill his ultimate goal of remaining in power indefinitely.
7. The world should be proud of Honduras as we are the first Latin-American country to stand against a tyrannical leader who has tried to topple democracy and peace in our country.
8. Declarations made by Hugo Chavez should be discredited immediately. He should, as President Obama said, allow Hondurans to solve this issue through open communication following LEGAL processes.
9. It is not only in the interest of Honduras and its citizens that democracy prevails (supported by the events today and Manuel Zelaya’s arrest) but also in the interest of the UNITED STATES that no other countries align with Hugo Chavez (and his puppets) to build his empire against democracy and peace.
10. In case Hugo Chavez tries to use military force in Honduras, we hope and pray we can count on the United States to stand along side Honduras against the fight against tyranny and oppression."
Please pray specifically for Dennis and Amanda who have tickets to leave the country tomorrow, Wednesday. Pray that they are able to get out without a problem and join us in Florida.
There have been peaceful demonstrations in the capital city with thousands of Hondurans supporting the removal of the President and seeking justice to prevail. Pray for wisdom and truth to be revealed and for peace to return to Honduras.
Thank you for your continued prayers for this situation and for our family as we enjoy time together this summer.
Love and Blessings,
Dennis and Deb Osberg
Academia Los Pinares, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Summer Address: 4802 Washington, #1412, Hollywood, FL 33021
TAX-DEDUCTIBLE SUPPORT INFORMATION for our account:
write checks out to Anaggello Global Missions, on the memo line write,
Honduras mission then mail to:
Anaggello Global Missions
6550 NE 21st Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308
As you have heard by now, Honduras is in turmoil. A Honduran friend recently sent out this email with the current facts.
"THE CURRENT SITUATION IN HONDURAS - 10 Bullet Points -
1. The event this morning should be taken as an arrest against a Honduras citizen, Manuel Zelaya, who broke the constitutional Honduran law in multiple occasions over the last few days.
2. This SHOULD NOT be taken as a Coup d'état.
3. The vast majority of Honduras firmly opposes Manuel Zelaya and are in favor of his arrest.
4. The current news being portrayed in international networks appear to be heavily tilted toward a contrarian view of most Hondurans.
5. The majority of Honduras are not in favor of Manual Zelaya and are extremely proud of our congress and military for their stance in favor of democracy and peace.
6. The events happening today were caused by an attempt by Manuel Zelaya to manipulate our country and its constitution to fulfill his ultimate goal of remaining in power indefinitely.
7. The world should be proud of Honduras as we are the first Latin-American country to stand against a tyrannical leader who has tried to topple democracy and peace in our country.
8. Declarations made by Hugo Chavez should be discredited immediately. He should, as President Obama said, allow Hondurans to solve this issue through open communication following LEGAL processes.
9. It is not only in the interest of Honduras and its citizens that democracy prevails (supported by the events today and Manuel Zelaya’s arrest) but also in the interest of the UNITED STATES that no other countries align with Hugo Chavez (and his puppets) to build his empire against democracy and peace.
10. In case Hugo Chavez tries to use military force in Honduras, we hope and pray we can count on the United States to stand along side Honduras against the fight against tyranny and oppression."
Please pray specifically for Dennis and Amanda who have tickets to leave the country tomorrow, Wednesday. Pray that they are able to get out without a problem and join us in Florida.
There have been peaceful demonstrations in the capital city with thousands of Hondurans supporting the removal of the President and seeking justice to prevail. Pray for wisdom and truth to be revealed and for peace to return to Honduras.
Thank you for your continued prayers for this situation and for our family as we enjoy time together this summer.
Love and Blessings,
Dennis and Deb Osberg
Academia Los Pinares, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Summer Address: 4802 Washington, #1412, Hollywood, FL 33021
TAX-DEDUCTIBLE SUPPORT INFORMATION for our account:
write checks out to Anaggello Global Missions, on the memo line write,
Honduras mission then mail to:
Anaggello Global Missions
6550 NE 21st Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308
Thanks for Prayer - Wagners
Thank you for praying for my jungle trip. It was 18 hours one way on unpaved mountain roads and one of the most dangerous road trips I have every made. The jungle path we have to traverse was two feet deep in mud in many places. I only got stuck one time, after sliding down a slope backwards. We take a big winch when we do trips like this and that’s how I got out of the muddy mess.
There were several reasons for this trip. Thanks to the kids at Hixson PCA in Chattanooga, we had a water system to install in the Noah’s Ark orphanage in the jungle. Water pumped out of a jungle creek will be pumped into an 1100-liter water tank, and then purified. You can see some pictures of this on our updated Photo Bucket page, listed at the end of this letter.
We also needed to help with predator problems, like the jaguar that ate the watchdog, boa constrictors and poisonous snakes that were just too close to where toddlers and other kids will be.
The jaguar is gone. We don’t know where, but I tracked for two days the area around the orphanage but found no sign at all. They are territorial so the big cat may be back at some time in the future.
There was also the Snake Elimination Program to get rid of the larger boa constrictors and venomous snakes. Smaller boas are fine as they keep the rat population down. The main meal for the kids for several days before we got there was boa stew.
< /span>
The only really serious incident was when one of the teenagers came back into the camp with an almost but not quite dead really big boa around his neck. He was holding the snake’s head in his hand, pretending it was talking to people. That foolishness was what saved him. An older teenager finally noticed the almost but not quite dead boa constrictor was actually a seven foot six inch long female Bushmaster snake.
For those of you who didn’t know, the Bushmaster snake is a pit viper and one of the largest and most poisonous snakes in all of South America. It’s capable of multiple strikes and even a baby snake can easily kill an adult human.
Missionaries don’t waste anything, so after it was completely dead, it was skinned, put in a pot and cooked, then made into Bushmaster stew. That process and my personal bowl of soup can be seen on our PhotoBucket page listed below.
The fangs were used by some of the teenagers playing snake and scratching each other. You have to wonder how so many teenagers ever grow up to be adults.
Please continue to pray about Fabiola’s heart surgery. We are still waiting to see if a South Carolina hospital will do it without charging. There are new pictures of her on Photobucket.
Thank you for you continued prayers and financial support.
Lord Bless,
Rich Wagner< /o:p>
The Hinterlands Project
Cusco Peru
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd146/WagnersinPeru/
There were several reasons for this trip. Thanks to the kids at Hixson PCA in Chattanooga, we had a water system to install in the Noah’s Ark orphanage in the jungle. Water pumped out of a jungle creek will be pumped into an 1100-liter water tank, and then purified. You can see some pictures of this on our updated Photo Bucket page, listed at the end of this letter.
We also needed to help with predator problems, like the jaguar that ate the watchdog, boa constrictors and poisonous snakes that were just too close to where toddlers and other kids will be.
The jaguar is gone. We don’t know where, but I tracked for two days the area around the orphanage but found no sign at all. They are territorial so the big cat may be back at some time in the future.
There was also the Snake Elimination Program to get rid of the larger boa constrictors and venomous snakes. Smaller boas are fine as they keep the rat population down. The main meal for the kids for several days before we got there was boa stew.
< /span>
The only really serious incident was when one of the teenagers came back into the camp with an almost but not quite dead really big boa around his neck. He was holding the snake’s head in his hand, pretending it was talking to people. That foolishness was what saved him. An older teenager finally noticed the almost but not quite dead boa constrictor was actually a seven foot six inch long female Bushmaster snake.
For those of you who didn’t know, the Bushmaster snake is a pit viper and one of the largest and most poisonous snakes in all of South America. It’s capable of multiple strikes and even a baby snake can easily kill an adult human.
Missionaries don’t waste anything, so after it was completely dead, it was skinned, put in a pot and cooked, then made into Bushmaster stew. That process and my personal bowl of soup can be seen on our PhotoBucket page listed below.
The fangs were used by some of the teenagers playing snake and scratching each other. You have to wonder how so many teenagers ever grow up to be adults.
Please continue to pray about Fabiola’s heart surgery. We are still waiting to see if a South Carolina hospital will do it without charging. There are new pictures of her on Photobucket.
Thank you for you continued prayers and financial support.
Lord Bless,
Rich Wagner< /o:p>
The Hinterlands Project
Cusco Peru
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd146/WagnersinPeru/
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